The present invention relates to a method for treating inflammatory skin disease and more particularly to a novel method for treating human skin infected with viral infections such as, for example, Herpesvirus, as well as the treatment of other infections of the skin where inflammation is a problem.
By inflammation is meant the destruction and repair of the tissues in response to irritation, and the means whereby the irritant is removed.
Such a definition places no limits on the amount of the response or the degree or kind of irritation. Because irritation by the normal products of growing and dying cells is related to the process of intercellular communication that occurs physiologically, inflammation merges with the normal behavior of tissues. When minimal it may differ only in degree from the normal physiological process by which tissues control their requirements from their blood supply.
Inflammation is necessary for repair as well as for the removal of irritants. However, repair, as in wound healing, differs only quantitatively from those processes which control the normal growth and contour of the tissues.
Swelling of the tissues is initially due to edema fluid, but in more chronic inflammation white cell infiltration may make a main contribution. The tissues themselves often increase in size. Thus acanthosis and an increase in the papillary vasculature is a usual response of the epidermis and upper dermis to irritation. A papular lesion following an insect bite may show a considerable increase in the bulk of the tissue which may persist after the initial edema has been resolved. Pseudo-epithiliomatous hypertrophy is not unusual in uncontrolled inflammation.
Heat is a usual consequence of increased flow of blood through the skin. In acute lesions the skin may be heated as a direct result of a local increase in metabolic rate. In chronic inflammation neither local metabolism nor blood flow may be increased, and the skin may feel cold. Heat loss cannot be exactly correlated with redness, because, areas of fast flow may be on the border of a more congested and slow-flowing system. Thus conduction of heat to the surface of the skin may be considerable over a large, deep arceriovenous fistula while the upper dermis may show all the effects of severe stasis consequent on raised venous pressure.
The sensations that accompany inflammation of the skin include burning, stinging, itching and tenderness, and are thus more varied than in most internal organs. Which of these sensations predominates depends in part on the site, depth, intensity and duration of the inflammatory process. Thus in urticaria stinging may accompany transient superficial lesions, itching is the usual sensation in papular urticaria or in lesions due to histamine release, while pain and tenderness may accompany deeper lesions of long duration, as in delayed pressure urticaria.
Inflammation is a response to any irritation, and the mechanism applies equally to infection, sunburn, abrasions, contact dermatitis or the various patterns or angiitis seen in dermatological practice. Studies of the effects of injury to the skin show early and delayed phases of the inflammatory response, and these are similar whether induced by trauma such as pressure or by ultraviolet irradiation, or any of the factors listed.
It would, be extremely desirable to provide an effective treatment for inflammatory skin diseases. Moreover, it would be desirable to provide an improved treatment for Herpesvirus disorders such as eczema, which is safe, having no known side effects in any body locations. Such treatments are described and claimed herein.
Herpesviruses come in 70 different varieties, but only a few are infectious to humans. The viruses infectious to humans include Herpesvirus hominis, which causes herpes simplex; Herpesvirus varicallae, which causes varicella (chicken pox) and zoster (shingles); the Epstein-Barr virus, which causes monocleosis; and cytomegalovirus, which causes fetal infections. Herpesviruses are also often responsible for fevers, hepatitis, and pneumonia-like illnesses in children and adults, especially those with lowered resistance. Additionally, eczema is caused by Herpesvirus hominis or Poxvirus officinalis, and perhaps other viruses such as Coxsackievirus.